Prince George, Princess Charlotte in Pippa’s wedding
Palace confirms the royal half-pints will be included, but little else is known about the Big Day
Will they or won’t they? The burning question was answered Monday when Kensington Palace announced that royal toddlers Prince George and Princess Charlotte of Cambridge will be in aunt Pippa Middleton’s May wedding.
“Miss Pippa Middleton and Mr. James Matthews are pleased to confirm their wedding will take place at St Mark’s Church, Englefield, on the morning of 20th May,” the palace statement said. “Prince George (who is 3) will be a page boy, and Princess Charlotte (2 on May 2) will be a bridesmaid.”
Also attending will be the children’s parents, Prince William and Duchess Kate of Cambridge, and uncle Prince Harry.
The British royal media pack has been speculating on what role the royal children would play in the wedding since Middleton, 33, and Matthews, 41, announced their engagement in July.
Kensington Palace has avoided commenting on the nuptials because Middleton is not a royal. But since her royal relations are going to be there, the palace has to organize for media coverage while trying to ensure the wedding party and guests retain a reasonable expectation of privacy.
“There is no comment or details available on Pippa’s wedding,” Middleton’s newly hired publicist, Jo Milloy, said in an email to USA TODAY Monday. “It is a private family wedding.”
Middleton is trying to pull off a trick rarely attempted successfully: organize a non-royal private wedding in the glare of royal-level media attention. So far, she holds the upper hand in the struggle to keep the veil, so to speak, over her plans while the British tabloids sneak peeks wherever they can, all off the record, of course.
Ever since she shot to fame as the bridesmaid at older sister Kate’s 2011 royal wedding to Prince William, Pippa has tried to maintain a private life without a full-time spokesperson.
Now she’s hired Milloy, a prominent British publicity maven best known as the strategist who helped polish the Victoria-and-David Beckham brand.
Besides the date and the church, which is near the Middle- ton home in Bucklebury, little else is known about the wedding plans, except that the day will include a sit-down dinner under a tent on the grounds of the estate.
Various names have been floated as wedding dress designer, but Milloy was not forthcoming on whether that will be announced.
Matthews runs a London hedge fund, is a graduate of Eton College (like Prince William and Prince Harry), and is a longtime friend and boyfriend to Middleton. His brother Spencer, expected to be his best man, is a well-known reality TV star in the UK.
Middleton and Matthews live in his mansion in Chelsea (his family is even richer than hers) and she shares an office in South Kensington. Having just published a cookbook, Heartfelt, she splits her time between writing (a column in a supermarket magazine and occasional pieces in Van
ity Fair) and charity work, including raising money for a school for the deaf and for an organization that helps disabled people learn snow sports. She might try to become a nutritionist after the wedding, she said in an interview in September.